Save me from Myself
by Kuruizaki-Hime01
Summary: AU. What if when Acnologia destroyed Tenrou Island during the S-Class trials Zeref had saved Natsu before Mavis cast Fairy Sphere and bought him to Alvarez, where Natsu slept in a coma. Seven years later Natsu awakens but doesn't remember anything, but he still remembers a girl with blonde hair and warm brown eyes and one name: Lucy. Contains spoilers for ch 465
1. Chapter 1

_**400 years ago (flashback)**_

 _A man wearing black robes with a white toga draped around his torso and flung behind him like a cape walked across the marble floors that had once been the Mildian Magic Academy, the skeletons of all the students and teachers that had mysteriously died twenty one years ago scattered across the ground. The man had black hair and black eyes and it looked like time had not touched him at all. The truth is, in twenty one years time had not in fact touched him. That was one of the effects of being cursed with the Contradictory Curse: immortality, being forever the same age, never aging, never changing._

 _The man pushed open the doors to the hidden underground room, a room that he had discovered at his days at the academy. The outside of the doors were cracking and fading from its days of neglect but the room beyond looked as if it was only days old: there was nothing out of place, the floor was tidy and looked as if it had never seen dust at all. And in the very middle of the room was a stasis pod filled with green, bubbly liquid, the body of a small child floating in it, his spiky pink hair the only thing that looked alive about him. The man walked towards the stasis pod and looked at the young boy with sad eyes, resting a hand on the pod. And, so quietly you couldn't hear him, he whispered one thing. A name._

 _"Natsu ..."_

 _The man sighed and leaned his forehead against the stasis pod, gazing at the child inside the pod._

 _"Natsu," the man repeated, caressing the glass and wishing to whoever was there that the ressurection had worked and his baby brother was alive once again. "Time to wake up."_

 _As if the child could hear him, the child opened his eyes slowly, revealing onyx eyes like the older boy's own. The man's face cracked into a gentle smile that was full of happiness, happiness he hadn't felt since the child had originally died._

 _"My name's Zeref Dragneel," the man introduces himself to the still-dazed child. "I'm your older brother, Natsu."_

 _The young child - Natsu - made a little noise that Zeref thought was cute before closing his eyes again. Zeref knew that Natsu needed to rest fully now so he drained the stasis pod and carefully pulled him out of the stasis pod and wrapped him in his white toga. Natsu made a little sleepy sound, fisting Zeref's robes and burrying his face deeper into Zeref's chest._

 _Zeref walked out of the underground room and stopped at the top of the stairs, frowning at the skeletons lining the ground. He had once studied at this school, Natsu running around the classroom as he worked. After their parents died the Mildian Magic Academy had bought the Dragneel siblings in. Natsu had still been a baby then so he didn't remember their parents, but Zeref, who had been five, did remember his parents. So he had started his research on life and death, his curiosity getting the best of him, and when the teachers told him to stop the research, he had stopped. But when Natsu had died at two years old when Zeref was seven, he had restarted the research up again. He had come up with the plans of the R-System and Eclipse, and when he was eighteen, he had been cursed with the Contradictory Curse and had accidently killed all his classmates and teachers due to it._

 _Zeref sighed and looked down at Natsu as he made yet another sound in his sleep before his eyes cracked open._

 _"Hello Natsu," Zeref cooed, caressing Natsu's pink hair. Natsu yawned, showing all his teeth. Zeref froze when he noticed that Natsu's canine teeth were sharper than they should be. Zeref narrowed his eyes and pulled the toga up a bit and saw black markings covering the bottom of his arms, shaped like flames. Zeref wasn't exactly surprised that Natsu would have demon marks - he_ was _an Etherious after all._

 _Zeref wrapped Natsu up again, this time covering his head, and left the ghost academy, his footsteps echoing in the sickeningly quiet place that used to be filled with the sounds of people walking to to and from classes, talking amongst themselves and laughter. Now Zeref could only hear the ghost of that laughter._

 _Zeref stepped into the sunlight, the sun warming up his skin after spending so much time in the freezing cold underground room in the academy, even though the cold didn't bother Zeref that much because of his immortality. As soon as he stepped foot into the light the ground started shaking violently, causing trees to fall over on top of each other. It wasn't an earthquake though._

 _"Hello Igneel," Zeref greets as a great red fire dragon lands in front of him._

 _"_ _ **Zeref, is that the boy you've been trying to revive?**_ _" Igneel asks, pointing his snout at Natsu, who had poked his head out of the toga to see what the trembling of the earth was._

 _"Yes, this is Natsu," Zeref says, covering Natsu's head again. "He's only just recently revived so he needs to rest but he refuses to. Even though he doesn't remember his human life he hasn't changed a bit. Oh and Igneel, thank you for helping me."_

 _"_ _ **You know I like to help humans effected by the Dragon War**_ _," Igneel says, blowing steam out of his nose. "_ _ **Can I have a look at him? I did help you revive him.**_ _"_

 _Zeref indicated for Igneel to lie and he did, one leg resting on top of the other. Zeref walked towards Igneel and gently placed Natsu in the hollow between Igneel's legs, resting him against one of his legs. Natsu looked up at Igneel with admiration and awe, Igneel looking down at him with love. Igneel was a rare dragon. As most dragons saw humans as food, Igneel loved all humans._

 _"Natsu, this is Igneel," Zeref cooed, running his hand through Natsu's hair. Natsu gave Zeref a look filled with child-like wonder. "He's a fire dragon. He's the King of fire dragons."_

 _"King Igneel!" Natsu shouts, holding his little arms towards the fire dragon._

 _"It would have been nice if Natsu's first word was my name but it nice to see that he's talking," Zeref sighs._

 _"_ _ **He's adorable**_ _," Igneel gushes, tickling Natsu's belly. Natsu's giggles and shouts bought such joy to Zeref's heart, joy he had not felt in ages. The sound of Natsu, the sight of Natsu_ alive _again after thirty one years of not seeing him bought positive emotions to Zeref._

 _"Igneel, can you do me a favour?" Zeref asked, a sudden sad look upon his face._

 _"_ _ **What is it?**_ _" Igneel asked, stopping tickling Natsu (who started to cry at the lost contact)._

 _"Even though I'm his creater ..." Zeref trailed off, looking away from Natsu, who was looking up at Igneel tearfully. "Creater, that's such a harsh thing to say, isn't it? He once been human, he once had a life before now."_

 _Zeref leaned forward and wiped the tears off Natsu's face, causing him to grab hold of his hand._

 _"I'm only his brother and that's what I will always be so I want you to be his father Igneel." Zeref looked up at Igneel, who had gone quiet. "Igneel?"_

 _"I'll like to be his father but there's only one problem," Igneel sighed. "Acnologia."_

 _"What about him?" Zeref asked, knowing of the Dragon Slayer who was able to turn into a dragon after killing many dragons, friend and foe, and bathing in their blood._

 _"Acnologia has vowed to kill all of us dragons and has almost succeeded too," Igneel explained. "There's only Metalicana, Grandine, Weisslogia, Skiadrum and I left."_

 _"There's always a way to defeat something, no matter how powerful they are," Zeref pointed out. Igneel rested his snout on Natsu's belly gently, Natsu grabbing his snout and burrying his face in his scales._

 _"We have a plan. Each of the dragons have taken a child who was left orphaned by the other dragons: Grandine took a girl named Wendy and is teaching her Sky Dragon Slayer magic; Metalicana took a boy named Gajeel and is teaching him Iron Dragon Slayer magic; Weisslogia took a boy named Sting and is teaching him White Dragon Slayer Magic; and Skiadrum took a boy named Rogue and is teaching him Shadow Dragon Slayer magic," Igneel explained. "And we're going to hide in their bodies and recharge our magic. The only problem is there is not enough ethernano in this time period."_

 _"I have a solution to that," Zeref says. "I originally made a thing that can send someone into the future or back into the past called the Eclipse Gate, but it needs to be opened by a Celestial Wizard with the twelve Zodiac Keys. I can get one to send you into the future that has enough ethernano for you to recover, and you can use Natsu as your host, I give you my permission."_

 _"_ _ **Are you sure?**_ _" Igneel asked. "_ _ **You only just reunited with him after all.**_ _"_

 _"The gate can only be opened on a solar or luna eclipse and the next one isn't for a couple of months."_

 _Igneel looked at Natsu who had fallen asleep. "_ _ **Thank you, I'll even teach Natsu Fire Dragon Slayer magic.**_ _"_

 _"I'm sure he'll love that, he used to be so fascinated with dragons." A sad look passed across Zeref's face. "It was only ironic that he was originally killed by one."_

 _Zeref gathered Natsu back into his arms and wrapped him in the toga as Igneel stood back up, spreading his massive wings._

 _"_ _ **I'll see you tomorrow, I have to go somewhere now**_ _," Igneel says before flying off._

 _"I wonder how dark the future will be," Zeref sighs as he walked back into the ghost academy._

 **Present day**

Zeref sat underneath the trees, looking up at the canopy where he could see birds of many different sizes and colours sitting on top of the branches, the sun poking through the leaves and causing the brightest birds' feathers to sparkle like diamonds. Zeref smiled kindly at the birds in the trees, but the smile fell from his face when the birds dropped to the ground, dead, around him, as well as the leaves and the trees, the leaves wilting before they hit the ground.

Zeref closed his eyes, a lone tear falling from his eye. When would this all stop? When would he finally die and be at peace?

In the distance he heard the sound of a dragon's roar, causing Zeref to cold sweat. He looked up at the sky above him which was now visible due to the leaves dying and saw a massive blue and black dragon fly passed, causing the dead trees to shake violently. Zeref quickly got out of the way before a tree fell down exactly where he had been not a moment ago. Zeref stared after the black dragon with wide eyes.

"Acnologia ..." he whispered.

He walked further up the clearing and stood at the edge of the mountain he had been sleeping on, looking down as the wizards that had come were fighting the giant dragon. He watched as the three Dragon Slayers Gajeel, Wendy and his brother Natsu combined their Dragon Roars to attack Acnologia, who seemed not to be effected by the attack. Acnologia swiped at them, knocking them to the ground, and Acnologia started to charge his own Dragon Roar. Zeref couldn't care less what happened to the wizards on the island, but he couldn't let Natsu die after seeing him again after not seeing him for four hundred years.

Zeref used his Immobilisation Magic to freeze everything in time and walked over to where Natsu was lying on the ground, unconscious. Zeref knelt beside him and caressed his cheek.

"No mater what happens to these wizards I can't let anything happen to you," Zeref whispered, running a hand through Natsu's spiky pink hair.

Zeref pulled Natsu into a sitting position and hooked his arms under Natsu's knees and his arms and picked him up bridal style, resting Natsu's head against his chest. Zeref counted down until the spell will wear off and Acnologia would destroy the island.

 _Five._

Zeref walked away from the frozen in time wizards of Fairy Tail, looking up at Acnologia with a frown on his face. He never really liked Acnologia but he didn't exactly like him either. He had a neutral feeling for the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. He just disliked Acnologia because he was the reason that Igneel had to take Natsu into the future. He was the reason that Zeref was separated from his precious brother again.

 _Four._

Zeref looked down at Natsu in his arms, noting the pained expression on his face. Zeref frowned, noting the red stain on Natsu's leg, which was spreading. Zeref gently laid Natsu on the ground and rolled the pant leg up and winced at the deep wound on Natsu's leg which was bleeding heavily.

 _Three._

Zeref ripped the pant leg off and tied it around Natsu's leg to staunch the bleeding before looking up at Natsu's face, noting Natsu's pained expression. Zeref sighed, wondering what was going on. If only he knew what was going on with Natsu because this surely wasn't a regular flesh wound. Something must have happened to Natsu to cause him such intense pain. Zeref leaned towards Natsu's leg and unwrapped the now-red fabric and his eyes widened at the black veins spreading around the wound. It seemed one of the wizards from that dark guild, Grimoire Heart or whatever it was called, had poisoned him with a poison that only came into effect when the victim was wounded. Zeref knew a cure to this but unfortunately it put the person into a deep sleep until the poison fully left their system, which could take years.

 _Two._

Zeref picked Natsu up again and looked back at the island again, silently saying goodbye to the wizards who would be killed by Acnologia. Zeref only cared about Natsu's safety and Natsu only. A black magic circle formed bellow Zeref's feet and on top of him, the magic circle above moving down him and Natsu, teleporting them away.

 _One._

The Immobilisation Spell wore off and everything went back to the way it should have been. Master Makarov shielded his children as Acnologia sent his Dragon Roar towards them, destroying the island. Mavis Vermillion, the first master of Fairy Tail, cast her Fairy Sphere on the Fairy Tail wizards, protecting them but also putting them into a seven-year-long sleep.

During this entire catastrophe no one noticed that their Salamander, their nakama, wasn't there with them.

* * *

Zeref walked through the streets of Alvarez towards the grand castle, carrying an unconscious Natsu in his arms. Natsu had broken out in a cold sweat, whimpering in pain even when he was asleep. Zeref ignored the people standing on the streets, cheering that their emperor, who had mysteriously vanished, had returned. They didn't seem to notice Natsu in his arms.

"Your highness," a man with glasses greets the Black Wizard. "You've returned."

"Invel," Zeref greeted one of his shields. "Gather the other Spriggan Twelve and come to the basement and set up a lacrima."

"Yes, your highness," Invel bows, turning on his heel and going to gather the other Spriggan Twelve.

Zeref made his way towards the basement where he kept all his research hidden from the twelve. They didn't know that he was Zeref the Black Wizard, they just simply knew him as Emperor Spriggan and nothing else.

Zeref entered the basement and walked over to the black worn out couch and rested Natsu on top of it and expected the wound. The black veins had spread. Zeref ran a hand through Natsu's sweaty hair and his hand travelled to the muffler around his neck, the one that Igneel had given him. Zeref remembered that day. Igneel had given the muffler to Natsu at Zeref's request before they went into the future. Zeref had injected it with a bit of his power that he learnt would protect someone from him when he accidentally released his curse.

"Your majesty, we have made the lacrima for you," Invel's voice announces. Zeref had not noticed the twelve entering so he did not notice them creating the lacrima with their magic. Zeref closed his eyes and nodded.

"Thank you," he says, rising. The twelve than noticed Natsu lying on the bed. "You may be wondering why I left so suddenly. The truth was I was searching for my brother that I had not seen in ages. And when I did finally find him he was poisoned with the time poison."

"So that's why you wanted us to make the lacrima," August realised. "The magic infused in the lacrima would slowly heal the poison from your brother's body. But my lord, the healing process usually takes years to take full effect, my say ten years"

"I'm very well aware of that," Zeref says. "But with all our power combined in the lacrima it should take at least seven years. But I don't want him to loose that time so I have to take extreme measures and seal his memories."

"Are you sure?" Ajeel asked. "That _is_ an extreme measure."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

Zeref rested his palm on Natsu's forehead and formed a magic circle. Natsu's face contorted in pain as his every single one of his memories were sealed away, from Igneel to the day he first joined Fairy Tail; the day that Lisanna went to Edolas when everyone thought she died to the day he met Lucy; and very recently the adventure to and from Edolas. All the memories were gone, sealed away with a tight padlock on it, only to be opened by Zeref himself.

Zeref pulled Natsu back into his arms again and walked towards the lacrima, the twelve stepping aside to allow a path for the Dark Wizard. Zeref gently pushed Natsu into the lacrima and stepped back in between Ajeel and Brandish, six on either side of Zeref. Zeref sent his power towards the lacrima crystal, lighting it up a dark purple, sealing his magic inside with Natsu. The other twelve wizards in the room did the same, combining their magic with Zeref's and creating some sort of magic that was slowly healing Natsu from the inside.

"It's done," Zeref sighed, turning away from his comatose brother. "Hopefully it'll only be seven years like I hope."

They left the basement, leaving the comatose body of the Fire Dragon Slayer in the lacrima, the magic from the thirteen wizards slowly travelling through his body causing a slight ache in his body. Natsu didn't know where he was or who he was, but through his clouded mind and the aching pulse going through his body only one thing went through his mind, something he didn't exactly understand.

 _Lucy ..._

* * *

 **PLEASE READ**

* * *

 **This is one of my fanfics that I would be publishing the next chapter at the end of January or the start of February. There would be some warnings for future chapters:**

• **there will be lots of smut that involves dirty talk and sex scenes. If that's not your thing but still want to read I'll put up a warning**

• **this is NaLu, Natsu x Lucy. If you do not ship them then DO NOT READ.**

• **if you do not like self harm or torture but still want to read this I'll be putting up a warming when it comes. I don't want to trigger anyone**

• **I haven't decided yet but there may be some rape in later chapters, but I won't write the detail, but I'll still put up a warning**

• **Zeref would have a massive brother complex in this fic**

• **since Natsu lost his memories he'll be a bit OOC. I'm sorry about that. Plus when he begins gaining his memories he may/may not go insane and that would be warning for a lot of blood and gore. Natsu will be E.N.D. in this fic, I know that much**

• **if there's anything else I'll put that up in later warnings.**

• **please comment on some ideas of torture. There will be torture but I won't say who will be tortured, and please spread this around and vote!**


	2. Chapter 1: Seven Years and Loss

Zeref had a strong sense of déjà vu as he made his way down to the basement, feeling slightly nervous. Every day for the past seven years he had come down here to check up on his brother, whose condition hadn't changed a bit. Natsu's condition emulated the one from four hundred years ago when he had been asleep for twenty one years (Zeref would tell himself that Natsu was simply sleeping, not dead) and anxiety was beginning to take over Zeref's mind. What if Natsu never recovered and he'll never see him again? Zeref hated that thought that kept going through his mind for four hundred years.

The basement hadn't changed since the last time he was down here: the bookshelves were lined neatly against the walls, the books all perfectly placed in alphabetical order; the floor was tidy and nothing was out of place; and despite the walls and ceiling being a bit damp they were in a perfect condition. Zeref was so messed up in the head due to the curse that one day he'll act as if he had OCD and make everything perfect but the next thing he knew he was throwing everything onto the ground, messing up the perfection it had been in. But looking at the state the basement was in now, the way it had been for seven years, it seemed that the key for Zeref' to control his contradicting thoughts was Natsu himself.

Natsu was the key to Zeref's sanity.

Natsu was still asleep in the lacrima but at least his condition had improved in seven years: his skin, which had taken a pale complexion after he was put into the lacrima, was beginning to regain its tan complexion; the black circles under his eyes were almost almost cleared up; and the wound on his leg was almost completely healed.

"Is it time for you to wake up now, little brother?" Zeref questioned, placing a hand on the lacrima crystal and a serene look passing over his face as he gazed at Natsu's sleeping face. Zeref almost missed the twitch of Natsu's eyebrows but thankfully he noticed. Natsu's eyelids fluttered before his eyes slowly opened, revealing his onyx eyes which were lacking the light that always burned brightly behind them. Now they were just dull, blank.

"Hey, Natsu," Zeref whispered, pushing his hands into the lacrima and grabbing Natsu's arms and pulled him out. Natsu blinked his eyes a couple of times, the black spots disappearing as his eyes adjusted to the light and stared up at Zeref, not recognising him.

Zeref carried Natsu to the black lounge and placed him onto it and knelt by Natsu head, scanning his face. Natsu looked disorientated to say the least.

"Do you know who I am?" Zeref asked, running his hand through Natsu's hair. Natsu closed his eyes and leaned into the gentle hand movements. It looked as if time had not turned in the lacrima because Natsu still looked eighteen even though he should be twenty five (even though his actual age is four hundred and thirty).

Natsu shook his head no in response to Zeref's question, his hands folded over his chest and fingering the muffler around his neck. Zeref sighed, rubbing his temples. It was like Natsu's resurrection all over again.

"I'm Zeref Dragneel, I'm your older brother," Zeref explained.

"Ze ... ref Drag ... neel?" Natsu repeated, stretching the symbols as if he were tasting the name on his tongue.

"Yes, and your name is Natsu Dragneel," Zeref explained. "But people know you as Salamander."

Natsu looked away from Zeref and started playing with the muffler around his neck, a frown forming on his face as the soft but scaly feeling caressed his fingertips.

"You got that muffler from your foster father Igneel." Zeref pulled on the muffler to show Natsu what he was talking about. "Do you remember Igneel? He was a fire dragon."

Natsu wracked his brain for any memory of a fire dragon but came up blank. The only thing that he came up with was a girl with golden hair and brown eyes and the name Lucy. He didn't know this Lucy was.

"No ... I don't ..." Natsu sighed.

"It seems that you have lost all your memories," Zeref sighed, expecting that. _Even though I'm the one responsible for taking them._ "But don't worry Natsu: the most important thing is to keep moving forward, not look back at a past you can't remember. Come here, can you stand?"

Natsu shrugged but slowly moved his legs over to the edge of the couch, slowly lowering his feet to the ground, still in a lying position. Taking a deep breath Natsu pushed himself into a sitting position and pushed himself up, his legs wobbling dangerously. Zeref held Natsu's shoulders to keep him steady, and when it seemed like Natsu wasn't going to fall over he slowly removed his hands from his brother's shoulders and stepped back, watching Natsu like a hawk to see if Natsu would loose his balance and fall over, but was glade to see that he didn't. In fact Natsu looked really steady.

"Can you walk?" Zeref asked.

Once again Natsu shrugged and took a step forward. It seemed to be OK but when he took a step with his other leg, the one with the not-quite-healed wound on it, a searing pain shot up his leg, feeling like a thousand knives were being stabbed into his leg and pulled upwards. Natsu shrieked and almost fell over backwards but Zeref caught him before he did more damage to himself.

Carefully Zeref laid Natsu down onto his back on the lounge again and expected the seven-year-old wound.

"The poison has completely left your system but the wound is still there," Zeref explained. He stood up and left the basement, probably to fetch some first aid Natsu guessed.

Natsu looked around, trying to remember something, _anything._ But like last time the only thing he came up with was the girl and the name Lucy. Natsu closed his eyes. Whenever he thought of the girl and the name a warm and fuzzy feeling filled his chest, feeling like butterflies were fluttering against his heart. Even though Natsu felt the feeling strong and clear, he did not know what it was.

"Lucy ..." Natsu whispered. He felt something warm and wet slide down his cheek. He bought his hand up to his eye and wiped the tears that were pooling in his eyes. Why was the name causing him to cry like this?

"Natsu," Zeref's gentle voice breaks him from his crying-induced thoughts. Natsu looked over to see Zeref standing beside a woman with violet hair and eyes the same shade. She was wearing a violet knee-high dress with a black stuttered belt with a piece of pink cloth across her hip with a key ring with a few silver keys connected to it.

"Emperor Spriggan, is this the boy who was asleep in the lacrima for seven years?" the woman asked.

"Yes, this is my brother Natsu," Zeref explained. "Natsu, this is Violet. She's a Celestial Wizard with a Celestial Spirit that can heal any wound."

Natsu didn't know what a wizard or a Celestial Spirit was but he watched as Violet took a key off the key chain.

" **Open, Gate of the Healer: Therapeftís!** "

A young girl with black hair and eyes wearing a nurse's outfit materialised out of nowhere, her arms behind her back and her head tilted to the side.

"Therapeftís, heal this young man please," Violet says gently to the spirit, who nodded and walked over to Natsu. Natsu gulped as the busty spirit placed her hands on his leg. Natsu felt a warm, tingling sensation go up his leg, healing the wound until only a scar was left. Natsu felt drowsy as the spirit's magic worked on him and before he knew it he was asleep.

"I've healed the wound mistress, but it's best if he doesn't put too much pressure on himself," Therapeftís says, spinning around in a salute.

"Thank you Therapeftís," Violet extolled the spirit as Therapeftís closed her gate and went back to the Spirit World. Violet frowned at the sleeping Natsu, who looked troubled even in his sleep. "That boy doesn't look well Spriggan, what exactly happened to him?"

"Nothing of your concern Violet," Zeref says, walking over to Natsu. "You may leave now."

Violet watched Zeref with a weary eye as he hauled Natsu up off the couch and left the basement, leaving Violet staring at the lacrima, which had started to glow with a faint pink colour.

* * *

"Has it really been seven years?" Erza Scarlet asked, sounding bewildered at what the Fairy Tail guild members had just told the members that had been missing for seven years.

The Fairy Tail members that had been at the S-Class trials had woken up to find part of Tenrou Island destroyed and no sign of Acnologia. They thought that only a couple minutes or hours had passed. They had looked around, making sure that the others were OK, and realised that a certain Dragon Slayer was missing. Wendy and Gajeel had told them that Natsu had been with them when they were attacking the black dragon and that he had been knocked out with the rest of them, so they had assumed that he woken up first and had gone back to the guild.

"You've been missing for seven years, we all thought you were dead," Bisca explains sadly, holding Alvack's hand. Lucy was surprised to learn that they were now married with a child.

"So, where's Natsu?" Lucy asked, excited to see how Natsu would look now. She pictured Natsu in her mind, still wearing the same vest, waistcoat, trousers and scarf that he wore seven years ago but with his salmon hair slightly longer, his face more mature, his face lined with a faint stubble and his body more muscular and hotter than it was.

Lucy's cheeks heated up at the picture of a seven years older version of Natsu that she had conjured up in her mind, a Natsu that could easily win the sexiest Dragon Slayer alive. Stuff that, he'll win the sexiest _man_ alive if he looked like that.

 _No Lucy, do not think like that!_ Lucy scolded herself. _Do not become a Juvia!_ It was true that Lucy started having feelings for the fiery Dragon Slayer since that time he saved her when she jumped off the tower when Phantom Lord kidnapped her. Whenever Lucy woke up to find the Dragon Slayer in her bed she used to gaze at him before freaking out and kicking him out of the bed and demanded for him to leave, when truthfully she didn't want him to and stay with her a little while longer. But it was a shame that Happy would be with him every time and she couldn't take the cat's teasing of ' _you loooooove him'_ every time.

Lucy only started to accept her feelings for Natsu as more than friendship when they went to Edolas and when she saw how her Edolas counterpart Lucy Ashley treated Natsu's counterpart Natsu Dragion. That time when Dragion drove them to the Kingdom - seeing Natsu driving a car without getting motion sickness had been a surprise to Lucy even though it hadn't exactly been 'her' Natsu - and when Dragion acted afraid of her, and when she realised that Ashley must abuse him, she had known deep down that she - as well as her counterpart - had feelings for their Natsu, trying to cover it up with violence towards them each time Ashley used her torture techniques on Dragion and when Lucy would kick Natsu every time he was in her house or her bed.

"Natsu's not here," Macao says, breaking Lucy out of her thoughts. "I thought that since he went on the S-Class trials with you all, he would still be with you."

"No, when we all woke up Natsu wasn't there with us," Erza explains. "We assumed that because we thought only a couple of minutes or hours had passed when we woke up Natsu would have recovered and gone back to the guild."

"Yeah, there would have been a slight problem with that: Natsu-Nii wouldn't be able to ride on the boat because of his motion sickness," Romeo pointed out.

After Romeo's words sunk in the guild were left in shock, unable to move or speak. _Natsu was missing._ No, it can't be true. Lucy refused to believe it. She started to shake her head wildly, her blonde hair whipping around her face as tears threatened to spill. _Natsu was not missing, he's somewhere probably eating everything a restaurant gave him. There was no way that Fairy Tail's Salamander was missing - and there was no way possible that he was_ dead, _I refuse to believe it!_ Lucy thought, grabbing her head and fighting the tears that had almost won the battle of not crying.

"Lucy, you're probably right," Erza says gently, placing a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "All we know Natsu could be somewhere eating everything a restaurant was giving him."

Lucy than realised that she had said everything she was thinking out loud without realising it. But Lucy still refused to cry.

"Everyone," Erza calls out in her authority voice, spinning around to face all of Fairy Tail. "We are going to go find Natsu! Everyone who are willing to search day and night will go! This is an order!"

* * *

The guild was unusually quiet without Natsu, the joyful atmosphere that he bought everywhere with him had died without the destructive Dragon Slayer. Nearly the entire guild - minus Makarov, who had locked himself away; Macao, who was the new guild master and couldn't leave; and Team Natsu, who were too sad to go out anywhere - had gone out to search for Natsu. Lucy and Happy were the worst out of them all, Lucy because everyone knew she was in love with Natsu even though she denied it and because Natsu was like a father to Happy.

Everyone watched as Carla walked up to Happy, a sympathetic look on her face. If it had been Wendy who went missing, the girl who was like Carla's mother even though Carla was the mother figure between the two, she would have been feeling the same as Happy was feeling at the moment.

"Happy ..." Carla sighed. Happy looked up at the white exceed, tears running down his face. He watched as Carla sat down in front of him and asked, "can I have a fish, please?"

Carla's request caused Happy to start crying tears of sadness and joy. Sadness because of Natsu and joy because Carla had finally excepted his fish and even went as far as ask for one. Happy took a fish out of his green rucksack and handed it to Carla, who took it with a gentle smile on her face and took a bite from it.

Lucy looked away, a searing jealousy coming up that surprised her towards the blue cat. She knew that Happy was head over heels for the white cat - everyone knew it - and every time he offered some fish to Carla she always rejected it. But now Carla was excepting the fish and now Happy was happy because his love was finally giving him a shot.

Lucy suddenly became jealous of the others in the guild. Bisca and Alvarek were together and married; even though Gray didn't like her back Juvia still had her 'Gray-Sama' with her and he wasn't lost; it was obvious that Elfman and Evergreen liked each other and they were still together; and even Erza and Jellal, Erza knew that Jellal was OK. The guild members had their loves and they weren't lost.

Before she knew it Lucy was running out of the guild, still fighting the tears that were threatening to fall harder.

"Lucy-San!" Wendy shouted, starting to go after her.

"Let her go Child," Carla sighed. "Leave her to herself."

Wendy sighed and let Lucy go like Carla told her to. She just hoped Lucy wouldn't do anything rash.

Lucy didn't know where she was going but somehow ended up at her apartment. As she walked along the wall next to the water she thought about all the times she had come home to find Natsu and Happy in her room eating all her food. Even while thinking about Natsu Lucy still didn't cry, refusing to believe that Natsu was truly gone.

Lucy was broken out of her thoughts when she saw her strict landlady standing at her door, hands on her hips and scowling at her. Lucy gulped with how nervous she was.

"So, I see you've returned safe and sound," her landlady says sarcastically. "But your rent is overdue - by seven years! That's 5,880,000J! You will not be stepping foot in this apartment until you've paid your rent!"

Forty minutes later Lucy sat at the bar in the guild, willowing in her despair. Not only was the love of her life missing but she was homeless until she paid off her rent, which would take her _forever._ With Natsu missing she wouldn't be able to go on missions. This reminded her of that time her father came to her asking for money because he had lost everything. Thinking about her father she decided she'll go see him after seven years.

"Erza, I'm going to go visit my father," Lucy tells Erza who was eating strawberry cake beside her. Erza nodded and Lucy left, going to the Love and Lucky guild where her parents had met.

"Hello, I'm her to see Jude Heartfilia," Lucy says to the woman at the front desk.

"You're Jude's daughter?" the woman asked. Lucy nodded in response. "You haven't heard?"

Lucy begun to frown at the woman's words. "Huh?"

"Jude Heartfilia passed away about a month ago. It was a tragic loss."

Lucy's mind went numb as she left, the news of her father's death putting her into shock. First Natsu and now her father? She was having the worst day of her life.

Lucy sat at her parents' graves, staring into space. Everything that she had bottled up inside, her mother's death seven - now fourteen - years ago, the news of her father's death and Natsu all exploded out of her, tears running down her face as she sobbed into her arms, her shoulders trembling.

After what felt like an eternity the tears finally dried out and Lucy was left staring at the graves standing side-by-side, the graves of her mother and father. Lucy felt numb inside, as if the pain from the past was too strong and she couldn't _feel_ anymore. However as she stared at her father's grave, thinking about how much she had hated him, she had the sudden thought that she had not been crying for him or her mother at all.

She had only been crying for Natsu.

"Natsu ..." Lucy whispered, a lone tear escaping and rolling down her already wet cheek. "Where are you?"

At Alvarez Natsu was sitting in the courtyard, thinking about the girl in his memory. He somehow knew that the girl was of some importance to him. Was the strange fuzzy feeling in his chest the reason? Even the thought of a Celestial Wizard bought that feeling up and he didn't even know what it meant.

"Lucy ... who are you?" Natsu whispered.

"What have we got here?" a new voice laughs. Natsu looked up to see two shady-looking men standing in front of him, sneering. One was only wearing black trousers similar to Natsu's with a scar over his eye, a bold head and green eyes. The other one had a shaved head except for some black hair going from the middle and into a ponytail, brown eyes and was wearing a black vest with a high-opened collar and brown pants. Both men had an insignia of a half moon with a snake curled around it, the bold man had a blue one on his left shoulder and the other one had a green one on his left hand.

"Look at the insignia on his shoulder Bruce," the black haired man says, pointing to Natsu's arm. "He's from Fairy Tail."

Natsu didn't know what a 'Fairy Tail' was but he felt nervous at the face both men were giving him. The bold one, Bruce, had a bloodthirsty look on his face as he looked Natsu up and down.

"I know you, you're Salamander," Bruce says. "I wonder what you're doing here in Alvarez. What do you say Aaron? Should we have some _'fun'_ with Salamander?"

"I agree Bruce," Aaron sniggered. "Do your thing Brucey."

Before Natsu could do or say anything Bruce had his hands around his throat, squeezing his hands so hard Natsu couldn't breathe. Natsu's hands flew to Bruce's hands, trying to pull his hands away from his neck, but Bruce was far too strong. Black spots danced around Natsu's vision a he tried to pull Bruce's hands off him and at the same time tried to get air into his lungs, but Bruce was crushing his windpipe, making it hard to breathe.

Bruce grunted in frustration as Natsu was hard to put into unconsciousness. The rumours were right: Salamander _was_ tough. He had to use a little trick to put him into unconsciousness.

" **Air-Make: Bubble!** "

A white magic circle formed around Natsu's neck and a bubble made out of air formed around Natsu's head. Bruce manipulated the air bubble to pull all of the oxygen outside of the bubble, and the sudden lack of air caused Natsu's face to go blue. And finally he went unconscious, flopping against Bruce.

"Hehe, I have so much ideas what we can do to Salamander," Aaron chuckled, turning away.

"I'm right with you Brother," Bruce sneers, flinging Natsu over his shoulder.

They started laughing as they went back to their guild, the dark guild Snake Moon.


End file.
